Pizza dough recipe

We’ve made our pizza dough with fast action yeast, for those who want delicious pizza without the wait.

This simple dough recipe can be used to make deep-dish, thin-crust, stuffed crust or fluffy Neapolitan pizza, depending on how you roll it out and prepare it. It’s the simple Italian recipe that’s been around since at least the Bronze Age, made of flour and water with a sprinkle of salt. To bring this homemade version of the classic dish to life, all you need to do after making the base is add the tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and your favourite toppings. 

Ingredients

• 500g strong white bread flour or 00 Italian flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2tsp fast action yeast
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 tsp salt
• 300ml tepid water

Topping for 1 pizza:

• 1 tbsp cherry tomato pasta sauce
• ½ball mozzarella, torn
• 4 artichokes, in oil
• Handful sunblushed tomatoes
• 3 slices Parma ham
• Handful fresh basil leaves

Method

1. In a food processor, whiz together flour, yeast, olive oil, salt and water, until just combined.
2. Knead the dough on a floured worktop for 5 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with a sheet of oiled cling film and set aside until doubled in size (this will take around 45 minutes).
3. Heat oven to 230C, gas 8. Divide the dough into 4. Flour your work surface and using a rolling pin and your hands, roll a piece of dough into a circle. (The bigger you go the thinner your crust).
4. Transfer each pizza base to a floured baking sheet.
5. Spread with 1tbsp tomato sauce and your chosen toppings. Bake for 10 minutes.

Tips for making pizza dough:

For a thick pizza dough crust, roll it out to 8-inches across and for a thin crust, roll out the rough into a 12-inch circle. To get the stuffed crust at home, place cheese batons around the edge of the pizza base at about 1 inch in from the edge. Fold the dough over the top of the cheese and press it down.

Bake in the oven on a pizza stone instead of a baking tray. It will mimic the effect of a pizza oven and make sure your pizza comes out crispy on the bottom every time. 

If you’d like to be more adventurous with your choice of pizza toppings, take a look at these recipes:

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• Baked egg pizza
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• Red Onion, artichoke and tomato pizza
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• Asparagus and ricotta pizza
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